Page:Hoffmann's Strange Stories - Hoffman - 1855.djvu/164

 further fears. But a short time elapsed before he had heard that Hubert, his competitor, had perished in a battle against the Persians; so that his property in Courland passed into the hands of the beautiful Seraphine, his sister, who reciprocated the love of Roderick, and who was soon united to him by the bonds of marriage. The wedding took place at R—sitten at the commencement of the month of November, and nothing was spared to give to this ceremony all the splendor which the high rank and riches of the parties required. The justice V, who had looked upon himself for a number of years as inseparable from the lord of R—sitten, had chosen for his domicil at the castle, the old sleeping room of the ancient Roderick, in order, thought he, to be thus more able to spy into the secrets of the conduct of Daniel. One evening that the baron and his lawyer, seated in this chamber, one at each end of a table, placed before an enormous fire, were busy examining the condition of the revenues of the domain, the blast roared outside with great fury; the fir trees in the forest cracked like giant skeletons, and the howling of the wind, like sobs, pervaded the galleries.

"What frightful weather out there, and how comfortable it is here!" exclaimed V.

"Yes, yes, frightful," repeated Roderick, mechanically, whom nothing had been able to abstract from his calculations until then. He arose to go to the window to observe the effect of the tempest: but hardly was he up, than he fell back into his chair, his mouth open, his look fixed, his hand extended towards the door which had just opened, to give entrance to a livid and fleshless figure, whose aspect would have inspired the bravest with terror. It was Daniel!

Paler than Daniel, and agitated by a feverish impatience on seeing the old major-domo scratch at the walled-up door, the baron Roderick sprang towards him, crying out:

"Daniel, Daniel! what doest thou here at this hour?"

Daniel uttered a groan and fell backwards. They tried to raise him, the unfortunate man was dead.